Faculty Senate discusses resolution calling for instructional faculty multi-year contracts

Editor’s Note: This article has been corrected to show that Patty Stokes is not a senator and that Sen. Gary Holcomb did not vote against the resolution offering instructional faculty multi-year contracts.

Ohio University Faculty Senate discussed a resolution that offers instructional faculty (IF) multi-year contracts at its meeting on Monday night.

The current handbook policy states that instructional faculty can be offered five-year renewable contracts after teaching at the university for five years on one-year renewable contracts. The resolution, read by Sen. Kyle Butler, ensures that professors and associate professors of instruction will be guaranteed a five-year renewable contract after the same period of time. Instructional faculty who currently have a one-year renewable contract will be offered multi-year contracts for the next academic year following the adoption of the resolution. 

The resolution was met with debate from tenured and non-tenured professors across Ohio U campuses. Sen. Mick Andzulis voiced his opposition to the policy change, claiming that it elevates the individual over other university parties.

“If you ask people if they would like a five-year contract they’ll say yes, if you ask them if they want a vending machine with free beverages and free snacks they’ll say yes,” Andzulis said. “My issue is that this removes the ability of the frontline people, the shares, and the Deans of the colleges to make decisions as to what is necessary to provide the best level of service to our stakeholders, our students, our university to be stewards of the financial responsibilities that we have.”

Many senators expressed their disdain for Andzulis’s comments, with associate professor of instruction Patty Stokes bringing up his tenure status.

“It's rather rich for someone with tenure to suggest that faculty with no security would like to have a ‘vending machine.’ Tenure, of course, also much more radically reduces ‘flexibility’,” Stokes said.

Several senators also brought up the point that the handbook already gives instructional faculty the option to have multi-year contracts, but many colleges within the university disregard this.

“Adding the availability of longer term contracts was added to the faculty handbook with overwhelming support,” Sen. James Casebolt said. “If there is no intention of actually following that policy then the adoption of that promise in the handbook was a lie.”

While there were other senators like Andzulis who voted nay on the resolution, including Sen. Jacqueline Wolf, Sen. Ana Rosado Feger, and Sen. Aaron Wilson; it received overwhelming support from a majority of the senate. Sen. Talinn Philips shared the effect multi-year contracts, or lack thereof, have had on those around them.

“I know of two exceptional IF colleagues who left Ohio University largely over this issue,” Philips said. “They viewed the unwillingness to even consider five-year contracts as a constant threat of being fired. Our students are worse off because these talented teachers left.”

Sen. Sean Parsons followed up with how he transferred to Ohio U because of the multi-year contracts offered to him.

“When I first came to OU as an IF, I left tenure to be a part of this university,” Parsons said. “Part of my decision to come to OU was the existence of this policy. It was communicated to me that even though I would not have the opportunity for tenure, multi-year contracts and promotions were available to me. Without this policy, I would not have accepted the position.”

The resolution passed with a majority vote and changes will be made later in the semester. 

“We are all one faculty,” Sen. Bill Reader said. “More security for some is more security for all.”